2yr olds and Nikon D90's don't mix

[cruisertoy]

last night I went to grab my NikonD90 off the high shelf on my computer desk and found this.



My CSI and interrogation skills quickly broke one of the possible culprits, a 9 year old, who ratted out his 2 yr old brother for having climbed up there and tossed a ton of stuff off. The two year old is going through a stage of doing this but I falsely assumed the high shelf was still good. So all the parts are there. After doing some research online it looks like having nikon reattach the mount is going to cost $300-500. At that point I'm shopping for an upgraded body. I put everything back together and all the screws seem to grab some sort of thread but I know they will not hold the weight of a lens. Do you think I could put some epoxy in the holes and then thread the ring back into place? I'm thinking my 12 yr old daughter could use the camera with the old light weight 18-55 kit lens. Any thoughts?

Any thoughts on a replacement? The D90 has been very good to me. I've hauled it everywhere and never babied it. It goes with me on every hike, whether it is swimming the Subway in Zions or hiking my local 11k foot mountains. I don't think I had yet cleaned the dust off from the Baja 1000 in November. I like to blow adventure pictures up to 36" x 48". My Nikon lenses of any value are an 18-200mm and a nifty 50mm so I'm not in deep enough to say I have to stay Nikon.

 

[Ryanmb21]

Tough luck of that! I just read your post and quickly moved my Nikon DSLR off the coffee table where my two year old is pushing trains around. Thanks for the heads up.

As for upgraded bodies, the sensors have come along way since the d90, so you should notice an improvement. If you want to DX sized sensors the d7000 and newer d7100 are good values. As of last week, best buy had a d7000 + 18-140 lens for $630 - great deal. If you get the full frame bug, the d610 for around 1400-$1500 seems like a good buy.

 

[fluffyprinceton]

Do you think I could put some epoxy in the holes and then thread the ring back into place?

If the electronic connection between the body & lens works when you test assemble it dry I think that's great idea. Try this stuff - it gives you enough working time to fiddle a bit. Trick would be to getting just the right amount in the screw holes so it won't squeeze into the body's interior. Moe
http://www.loctiteproducts.com/p/epxy_plstc_s/overview/Loctite-Epoxy-Plastic-Bonder.htm

 

[cruisertoy]

I thought about that Loctite product or Devcon Plastic Welder. We use a lot of it at work to bond several types of plastic. I took a couple pictures tonight and they turned out fine with a 50mm lens. I'm assuming that at 200mm zoom any alignment issues would be exaggerated so I may try that as well.


f/3.5 1/125sec iso-1600 50mm

 

[Kmrtnsn]

That sucks. I just bought a gently used D200 body from Adorama for $175.00 delivered to replace a D100 I used for work. You might try there for something. Glad I don't have kids. If that have happened in my house I think there would have been a couple of kids shipped off to military boarding school until they finished college.

 

[Ziv]

Full frame D700's are selling for less than $1K, used.

 

[kojackJKU]

Ebay is your friend. Find a reputable seller, and pull off a great used body, for a great price and enjoy your cost effective upgrade. 90 percent of my gear, parts, clothes etc comes from ebay because of ease of ordering, payment and selection.

 

[Ripper]

Try http://www.bhphotovideo.com/ they are a very reputable place to deal with an often sell top notch used equipment. I have recently gotten into photography and they have helped me make some great purchases, and drain my account....

 

[kojackJKU]

Yeah, B&H is great, but I have often found ebay a better deal. either way you can't go wrong however!

 

[workerdrone]

Bummer.

The D90 might still have some value - I sold a water damaged 8008 on Ebay 'for parts only', full disclosure and got some decent cash.

Looks like there's a UT craigslist D300 I'm sure you could get for 300 right now, but like your D90 it's getting a bit long in the tooth.

I can pick up a D7000 locally for 400.

I think the D7xxx range is the sweet spot of Nikon slr value for folks serious about photography, and you already have DX lenses.

 

[cruisertoy]

Thanks everybody. I put devcon in each thread hold and tightened everything down. It seems tight and the photos look fine. I'm really worried about putting a heavy lens on it and walking around. I may just through a 18-55 kit lens on it and let my 12yr old use it for school and outings. I'm in no panic rush to replace it but am looking. I've seen quite a few used D71000 bodies going for about $650 used with 30k clicks. Like has been mentioned best buy has a D7000 with an 18-140, card and cheap bag for $673 with tax. I don't mind buying used but its always a gamble. Talk me into one over the other.

 

[workerdrone]

Buying used is not such a gamble IMO - cameras are pretty easy to inspect and run through their paces, if you have some basic knowledge.

If everything is working 100 percent at time of sale on a digital camera, I'd put good money on the odds that it will continue to do so until you are bored with it / it's obsolete.

I'd put about the same money on the odds for a new camera at time of sale.

You save so much money buying used I say screw the warranty - your mileage may vary of course

 

[kojackJKU]

My buddy just picked up a sony alpha a700 for less than 200 bucks. it was 1699 new, still takes amazing photos and is built. He then picked up an extra battery grip for 78.

 

[Irene J]

I do not understand the technical issues, but a week ago I bought a Nikon D7000 DSLR from amazon, and I am quite satisfied

 

[77cruiser77]

If you're willing to not stay with Nikon I find my Canon 5D Mark III phenomenal. Low light ability seems unmatched and great video capabilities. That said the Mark II is becoming pretty cheap in comparison for a used model.